To Become A Horseman
by Ms. SpearBourne
Summary: Methos has a choice to make: Remain with his fiancee or rejoin the Four Horsemen? Set in ancient Greece. One-shot


_**This is just a little something I came up with a while back. Kara is pronounced "CAH-rah," not "CARE-uh."**_

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><p>To Become A Horseman . . .<p>

Storm clouds loomed on the horizon, roiling, black, grey, full, and foreboding. Kara made no movement to avoid the impending rain. After what had just happened, she doubted she would ever move again. She just sat there, on a cold stone near a lazy pond in a field of wildflowers, looking like a perfect statue. Her alabaster skin was smooth, her lips set in line that was neither a smile nor a frown.

But if someone were to gaze into her green eyes for more than a moment, they would see the turmoil that lay within her. Her heart had been broken, her world shattered moments before by the only man she had ever truly loved. Her dark blonde hair was being flattened by the storm that had finally broken, but Kara took no notice of it. Tears and raindrops were streaming freely down her cheeks now, the memory of Methos's voice telling her he was leaving her like a dagger in her gut.

She found it difficult to believe that he was breaking off their engagement so he could travel with these three men he had only recently met. Sadly, she had to face the prospect that he hadn't loved her with the same passion she had felt the last few months. Perhaps all his honeyed words had been lies, his gentle kisses and sweet caress part of an act. Could it be that he still secretly longed for the turbulent life of a soldier?

This region had known peace for a few seasons, since before they had met that day in the agora. He had looked so dashing, his raven hair ruffled by the breeze. She had come into town to sell the fruit she grew in her small orchard, and when he came up to her table to peruse her offerings, something in his face, his eyes, told her that he had seen things she couldn't even fathom. And when her cousin (and only surviving family) told her that he'd asked permission to marry her, she was thrilled. This handsome man wanted to be with _her_!

They'd spent months planning the wedding, building a house, getting to know each other better, and with only three weeks left until the momentous day, she was all aflutter with nervous energy.

But, this morning, her world was shattered. He'd asked her to come out to the field where they were to pledge their troth to one another. She'd never suspected what was to come. She had no idea what was going through his mind, calling off the wedding like that and turning his back on her and walking away from the life they had planned together.

Little did she know, he was doing this for her own good. Gods help him, he really did love her. Leaving her behind with her heartache was difficult but necessary. He knew what kind of life he'd be leading by rejoining the Horsemen and to subject her to that would be even more cruel. Besides, if he brought her along, he knew it meant having to share her with Caspian, Silas, and worst of all, Kronos. He couldn't bear the thought of the torture Kronos would inflict on her, and so Methos broke Kara's heart to spare her a lifetime of pain.

She was beautiful, both inside and out, and, after some time had gone by, he had no doubt that she would have many suitors from which to choose a suitable husband. One day a man would enter her life and bring the sparkle back to her eyes.

Oh, those eyes! They could be exquisite emeralds when she was pleased or overjoyed, but they were dark chasms when her anger peaked. And her lips! Her lips, like honey on rose petals, so full and glistening when she smiled. That smile! He'd miss that most of all, he thought wistfully. Her smile could make flowers bloom, she was so radiant.

Her love had brought to his soul a measure of peace he'd not felt for centuries. Yet at the end of the day, he did secretly long for the nomadic life, the excitement, the turbulence, even the heady thrill of violence. He sorely wished he could reconcile the two lifestyles he envisioned, but after painstaking soul-searching and many sleepless nights, he came to the conclusion that he loved her too much to deny Kara the chance to experience motherhood and a stable family life. Those were both things he could not provide, and what if another Immortal came along and used her against him? What if he couldn't protect her? And if he told her the truth, as he knew one day she would ask how it was that he never seemed to age, wouldn't she resent him for wasting her youth? Wasting her life?

He decided that he couldn't do that to her, that it was better to walk away. He told himself it was for her sake more than his own, but he had trouble convincing himself of that. He didn't bother giving her a believable reason for leaving her, saying only that he was going to travel with these three 'new' friends.

The confusion in her eyes was almost enough to make him take it all back, to tell her it was all a mistake, that he truly _did_ want to share his life with her.

He headed for a local tavern to try to drown his sorrows in drink and compose himself before meeting up with his 'travelling companions.' As he sat there, alone, sipping from a tall mug, he could not wipe her face from his mind. All he could see was Kara. It was as though she was standing right in front of him.

The beer must be getting to him. He blinked several times and shook his head. She was just another woman, he told himself. She would have grown old and gray. Try as he might, he couldn't imagine her being anything but lovely.

Kara's face was still there, floating in front of him. The hallucination looked like it had been caught in the rainstorm. Methos sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes. He was surprised when he felt a soft hand on his wrist.

"Methos?" a lilting voice asked.

He was afraid to open his eyes. He was sure if he looked at her that he would tell her everything. Then one of two possibilities: she would walk away from him forever, believing he was insane or worse, or she would continue to love him and want to accompany him on his journey.

Slowly, cautiously, he lowered his hands to the table and gazed upon the face he could never forget. Perhaps he owed her this much, to let her choose for herself the kind of life she would lead.

He took a deep breath and sighed. "Kara . . . ." he began.

She held up a finger. "Wait, Methos. I need to ask you something." She studied his face, wondering if what Kronos had told her could be true.

Before she had the chance to bombard him with all the questions brewing inside of her, he begged her to let him explain, uninterrupted. If she had questions, he would answer them to the best of his ability. She sat in silence, her mind trying to understand the complicated story he wove. He held nothing back. He told her of his first death, about Immortals and the Game, Quickenings, all of it. His whole life, he laid bare to her. When he was done, she sat there, just like she had a few hours earlier when he'd broken their engagement.

"So that's why you didn't want to marry me," she said softly. It came out more as a statement than a question, but she needed to hear it from him.

He didn't quite trust his voice anymore, so he simply nodded.

"You . . . . decided . . . . made the choice _FOR _me . . . . instead of . . . . _trusting _me . . . . with the truth . . . ?" Her struggle to contain her rage was apparent.

Methos leaned in again, almost whispering. "Maybe we should discuss this elsewhere, somewhere more private?"

She stood so suddenly that the eyes of the other drunks were lazily upon her. She was a force to be reckoned with, he knew all too well. He tried to stand, but the effects of the alcohol he had been consuming hit him with full force. He fell backwards, narrowly missing his chair and thudding on the floor. The other tavern patrons averted their eyes as Kara went to help him up. A lovers' spat was what everyone would believe it to be.

Methos grinned slightly at that thought as he leaned on Kara for support. They left the hazy darkness of the tavern for the freshness of the mid-afternoon sun and searched for a secluded place to talk. She felt him stiffen next to her as he sensed the Buzz of another Immortal. He reached for his sword, but he was in no condition to put up a decent fight.

It wouldn't matter, though. Silas appeared around the corner. When he saw Kara and Methos together, he demurred and gave them their privacy to attempt to work things out.

Under the shade of an oak tree, they sat and talked. Well, she talked, mostly, with Methos answering when she prompted him.

"So . . . You can't die? Unless someone takes your head. Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" It had taken a while, but her anger had cooled. Somewhat.

"Well, you must understand, Kara, most people would have a hard time of it. This isn't exactly . . . . an easy concept to wrap one's mind around. It took a tremendous effort for _me _to comprehend it, and I actually lived it! I had no idea _how _you'd react, so I just kept putting off telling you." He'd never expected that she would take it this well. Should he tell her the rest?

One eyebrow arched, she eyed him curiously. What _else _might he be keeping from her?

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for the review, James Birdsong! I'm glad you liked it!**


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